Late Night Consoling

Rockstar Games gave IGN some of the first details on the Xbox port of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Thanks to the superior hardware, the game will see upgraded graphics, 480p and 16:9 progressive widescreen, high-res textures, and increased draw distances. Gamers can customize their own soundtracks and a 30-second instant replay feature is being included.

When Acclaim went bankrupt, every title was now up for grabs. Some were kept alive (Juiced) and others are dead (Red Star), but one that was in limbo will live to see another day. Developers working on Interview with a Made Man have acquired the IP and have formed the development studio SilverBack to make it. The storyline is written by David Fisher, best-selling author of The Good Guys and a former mob is advising on the game. It's shooting for a 2006 release.

Microsoft's game division is still struggling to turn a continuous profit, but things are looking better. The Xbox has fared roughly 25% better than normal this past quarter, losing only $154 million compared to $209 million last year. Microsoft as a whole, however, still makes boatloads of moola, with $2.56 BILLION dollars in profit the last quarter.

Lunar fansite Lunar-NET is working together with Ubisoft to run a poll that'll ultimately decide the final name for the upcoming Lunar game on the Nintendo DS. The poll can be found here. Ubi also had this to say about the game: "The new Lunar game being published by Ubisoft in the US on the Nintendo DS will be a prequel taking place 1000 years prior to the storylines from the original Lunar games."

Microsoft Game Studios announced today that they plan to release Kingdom Under Fire: Heroes for the Xbox later this summer. The sequel claims that it "raises the intensity of the fast-paced action-strategy game with improved epic battles; new characters, environments, units; and new multiplayer options for waging war over Xbox Live."

DC Studios is the new developer of State of Emergency 2, acquiring the title from VIS, who are currently undergoing some financial difficulties. DC Studios has been primarily a developer of portable games.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe revealed that on May 13, they'll release a silver version of the slim PlayStation 2 console. It'll go for €159 or £114.99 and there will be silver accessories: memory card, controller, vertical stand, DVD remote.

IGN talks with Jay Stelly of Valve about the Xbox port of Half-Life 2. They also chat with a producer of Shogun Warriors for the DS.